Some things that didn’t fit in Thursday’s update is thrown in here as well, so it should be a JAM-PACKED! update. Here’s the 2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

Super-non-informative article on the recruitment of PA QB Anthony Gonzales (#6). He’s fast enough to play QB for his high school team, and is described as “slippery.” Though Michigan hasn’t offered yet, that certainly fits the description they’re looking for in this class: a good second QB who can potentially change positions down the road if everything works out with the other players. There is no Michigan mention in the article, and Penn State is presumed to be the favorite by the author, with Pitt just behind. Still, if the Wolverines don’t have a second QB committed by the time the season rolls around, Gonzales may be a candidate to pick up an offer.

LSU has jumped into the fray for IA QB/Ath AJ Derby (info in header). He is becoming a bigger and bigger prospect, which means he may be less likely to accept an offer to play second fiddle to Devin Gardner in the QB class of 2010. Of course, it’s still highly likely he plays at Iowa, where his dad played. The Chicago Sun-Times’s Second Season blog thinks it’s Iowa or Florida for him.

Continuing the deluge of QB news, SC prospect Cornelius Jones has set up a summer visit to Ann Arbor (info in header). Smart money is on this visit happening for camp this week. Jones has had Michigan at or near the top of his list for quite some time now, so a good visit with the Wolverines might be enough to convince him to commit.

Removed MI QB Robert Bolden, who does not have the Wolverines on his list of 6 finalists. I’m not disappointed, because I still maintain that Bolden is more of a pro-style QB than a true dual-threat who would thrive in the Rich Rodriguez spread.

Fluff/brief recruiting info on FL RB Cassius McDowell from SoFlaFootball. McDowell is out for the spring with a broken leg, and has been using his newfound free time to pick up the pace with schoolwork, and enroll early in the fall at his school of choice. The teammate of 2009 signees Denard Robinson and Adrian Witty counts the Wolverines among his offers.

Removed FL RB Darion Hall, who committed to Miami. This is not a surprise. You may recall that I was not particularly stoked on Hall, especially considering he apparently has some maturing to do “on and off the field.”

FL/MI WR Ricardo Miller has apparently changed his tune about which Ann Arbor-area high school he’ll be attending, according to Sam Webb. Rampant speculation and semi-disturbing high school fantasy football leagues by Michigan fans have cluttered the interwebs this weekend, but the fact of the matter is, he’s going to go to the school that gives him the best education and opportunity to succeed on the football field.

PA WR Andrew Carswell‘s continued interest in Michigan (they’re in his top 3 with BC and Pitt) may be explained by the fact that he’s a multiple-position player. If he ends up committing to Michigan (I still think it’s something of a longshot at this point), he could end up playing linebacker on defense.

Removed MD WR EJ Scott, who committed to Virginia.

Removed AL WR Soloman Patton, now a Florida Gator.

In your latest breathless MN OL Seantrel Henderson update, a couple fun factoids that may play a role in his recruitment. First, new Gophers OL coach Tim Davis might send his son to Cretin-Derham Hall. That would certainly not hurt Minnesota for Seantrel (unless said son is a total d-bag, but I digress). Another interesting friend item on Henderson:

According to Lemming, Henderson may want to attend the same school as friend J.D. Pride, another Minneapolis-area player. According to Rivals.com, the only offer Pride holds is from Minnesota.

If the Wolverines ever offer Pride, a QB/Ath, it would certainly help their case. Also, maybe Pride could net an Eastern Michigan offer? That could still help the Wolverines land Henderson. I believe both Henderson and Pride are camping at Michigan, and Eastern’s coaches traditionally head across town to take part.

Recruiting info on GA DT Jeff Whitaker, with nary a mention of Michigan. It sounds like he probably won’t end up with an offer. With the Wolverines perhaps having less of a need for DTs in the unconventional defense of Greg Robinson, perhaps they’ll only need one tackle in this class.

MI DT Jonathan Hankins may be their guy at the position, as a camp offer is likely to come through, especially considering even the stingy Buckeyes have deemed him worthy of a scholarship. Sam Webb had a “gut feeling” on the Recruiting Roundup Thursday that Hankins would be blue if offered. For those who are unfamiliar with the WTKA morning show, Sam’s “gut feeling” means that he has heard directly from a source that the information is true.

Removed SC DT AJ Cann. He is down to a final list that does not include Michigan, and the Wolverines are out of the race for his services.

FL DE Lynden Trail is favoring Florida as he quests to add more weight to give his body a more appropriate DE size (he’s currently at 210 pounds, standing 6-7).

Removed PA DE Dakota Royer. He has released a final five list that does not include Michigan. He plans to make a commitment in July. In a really odd twist, especially considering The Sporting News’s Recruitnik blog has an article on Royer from the same timeframe, also featuring direct quotes, that Royer is down to a top 10, with narrowing to a top 5 by the end of July. Either way, Michigan isn’t on his list, so he gone. Adios, guy who did this:

Removed PA DE Kyle Baublitz, who will be a Nittany Lion.

FL DE/LB Corey Lemonier is playing outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense this year at Hialeah, which is probably fairly comparable to the hybrid roles in Michigan’s new defense under coordinator Greg Robinson. It should come as no surprise, then, that Lemonier plans to use one of his official visits on a trip to Ann Arbor. DE/LB is the new WR in this recruiting class, as far as “how many of these guys can we fit in the class?”

MI S/LB/Ath Daniel Easterly currently favors Illinois, but his feelings about the Wolverines are hard to tell, because he won’t name schools that haven’t offered him among his favorites. He is going to camp at Michigan, so if he earns an offer there, the Wolverines would likely be a serious player in his recruitment.

Michigan is a reported offer for OH S/WR Bobby Swigert. He’s apparently camping this week as well.

Removed SC S Bashaud Breeland, now a Clemson commitment.

Removed MD S Jeff Knox, who committed to Pittsburgh.

FL CB Nickell Robey is going to visit Ann Arbor this summer along with FL S commit Marvin Robinson (info in header). This is obviously good news as far as Robey’s recruitment, but there’s also some moderately bad news that relates to Robinson: he still wants to take a visit to Chapel Hill to check out the Tar Heels (info in header). He still plans to honor his verbal commitment, so this isn’t exactly “ACK FREAK OUT”-type news, but the verbal is less than solid, it seems.

Removed OH CB Jordan Paschal. The Trotwood-Madison (Roundtree, Shaw, Moore) product committed to Louisville.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Recruiting Board.

Big House Barbecue As mentioned in this morning’s post, there were no immediate results from the Big House Barbecue event. Though the Wolverines picked up a commitment from PA DE Jordan Paskorz (and how about a little Paskorz fluff? Or were you looking for a more local flavor?), it was prior to the barbecue, and not related to the actual even itself. So, was the whole thing a bust this time around? Not so much. There are lots of positive vibes coming from essentially every recruit who was there, with none moreso than a couple guys who might suddenly be ready to make decisions. “Wilkins moves closer to decision after visit” and “Is a Decision Imminent for Pace?” are pretty good indications-via-headline that PA LB Ken Wilkins and OH OL Christian Pace enjoyed themselves enough to at least seriously consider committing in the not-particularly-distant future. Keep your eyes peeled in the coming days.

Other than those two, nothing seems to be imminent, but the general feeling from the barbecue seems to be a good one, emanating from the mouths of seemingly every recruit who was there. Michigan certainly helped themselves with a number of guys, even if they only managed to accelerate a couple of decision timelines. Some of those who seemd to enjoy themselves: FL CB Tony Grimes, who had his “eyes opened by Michigan,” and seems to be a pretty good player, as well. Another top prospect who was there, perhaps surprisingly to Michigan fans who are staring at the commit list with a shocked expression, was IL WR Kyle Prater (info in header).

Fluff on IA QB AJ Derby. Tom Lemming criticizes several midwest schools for being impatient and not waiting for great prospects like Derby, while lauding Iowa’s foresight to not accept commitments from lesser-rated players. Like, I don’t know, 3-stars James Morris and Austin Gray and unranked Anthony Ferguson and Jim Poggi. I’m just sayin’. Back to Derby though, Lemming seems to think he might be a 5-star caliber player, but that his Hawkeye connections (aside from the obvious – living in Iowa City – his dad also played for Iowa in the 90s) will probably mean he ends up playing for his hometown school.

OK QB/WR Demarco Cobbs is trying to narrow his list, but is having a hard time telling schools that he’s just not that into them. Be forwarned that Michigan is nowhere near his rough top 10 list, which instead consists of Alabama, Arizona, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee and USC. He basically never mentions Michigan, though he says “a couple schools” are right outside the top list, and could sneak in there. He seems to have little interest in playing QB, and the only reason I’m leaving him on the list for now is that he has a Michigan offer, and there’s no formal cutdown that means Michigan is absolutely out of it.

SC RB Marcus Lattimore has trimmed his list of schools to a final 8, which doesn’t include Michigan. This is curious because of the “I am definitely going to an official visit in Ann Arbor” vibe he was giving out before, but the writing has sort of been on the wall for a while now. I’ll leave him on the board a little longer, until I can get a chance to resolve the official visit issue.

Selective reading by the Miami Herald, when discussing possible future commitments for Da U. They pick out a FL OL Torrian Wilson quote that all of his top 5 schools are “about equal,” while forgetting to mention that he has also said several times that Michigan definitely leads. This is yet another reason why newspapers are failing, guys. I’m not saying the Wolverines will definitely land Wilson, but lying to your readers by omission isn’t exactly a criterion for becoming a beacon of journalism.

GA OT/DE Henry Anderson says Michigan “is in the big picture” (info in header). While that certainly doesn’t mean very much, it’s enough to warrant adding him to the board.

GA DE TJ Stripling might be taking a visit to Ann Arbor soon (info in header). Memo to Pete Cunningham, the author of this article. You can’t have a tease in the excerpt that you’ve already answered in the headline. Stripling had not been previously on the board, so I’ve added him.

Some pretty fluffy stuff on FL LB Jeff Luc. Of actual note from the article: He’s a good student, and trying to get all of his classes in order so he can graduate in December and enroll early at his school of choice.

Michigan has offered GA LB Tyrone Cornelius. I’ve added him to the board.

MD LB Troy Gloster has been offered by Michigan. The former teammate of Florida’s Jelani Jenkins is one of many Division-1 prospects at Good Counsel High School, so keep an eye on the Wolverines’ future actions at that school.

Periodic Pahokee Update Time. It seems I say more about this school than any other, probably because the number of prospects available there, and also because of Michigan’s existing ties to the Blue Devils. Anyway, a weird-ish non-story from the muck over the weekend, as CB Merrill Noel and LB Zachery Allen planned to announce today – then promptly changed their minds. The Wolverines wouldn’t have likely been the school of choice for either guy, so if they want a legit shot at them, a longer recruiting process can only help Michigan. It had been predicted that both would commit to Wake today.

A top 100 list of Florida prospects by the Miami Herald includes a number of Michigan prospects, including commits Ricardo Miller (#19) and Marvin Robinson (#31). The most humorous part of this list is the authors’ insistence on bragging about how much smarter they are than the national recruiting sites, and how they know so much more than those guys. Then they go on to spell about 30% of the names wrong. Great work, guys!

Posted under Football, Recruiting

2010 Michigan Wolverines Recruiting Board.

Moved to committed: PA DE/LB Jordan Paskorz. Commitment Post.

Let’s get started with the bad news. For those who were harboring some hope that the Wolverines would be able to steal MI LB William Gholston from the Spartans, it might be time to think again. Take a look at the outfit that the young Mr. Gholston wore to prom (HT: The Only Colors):

So, yeah. Spartans lead. Gholston, despite his frequent trips to ann Arbor, has made even more frequent trips to East Lansing. His high school coach at Detroit Southeastern is allegedly in the pocket of Mark Dantonio, and Gholston grew up a Michigan State fan. All of these factors certainly add up as circumstantial evidence that the Spartans are likely to be the favorite to land Gholston. It’s certainly too early to give up all hope, but it’s probably time to temper some expectations, methinks. It’s unfortunate that he’ll end up moving to defensive end when he gets to East Lansing, when Michigan is offering him the opportunity to remain at linebacker, but there are certainly several factors at play in his recruitment. You can’t get ’em all, so unless he indicates that Michigan still has a definite chance, we’ll kindly move along from Big Will II.

Some offensive soul-searching for the Florida offense in the wake of the Tebow Child’s eventual departure. Michigan isn’t particularly strong with any of the QBs mentioned in the article (TN Barry Brunetti, CA Jesse Scroggins, GA Marcus Smith, and IA AJ Derby – the most realistic prospect in the bunch), but Florida’s schemes will certainly affect their recruiting in this and future classes, which will likely have a domino effect on Michigan, as well.

Speaking of QBs, time to remove one of Michigan’s potential second options from the board: TX QB Jeremy Johnson has finally committed to West Virginia.

In other QB news, FL QB Christian Green has released a top 6, with Michigan nowhere to be found. He’s expressed interest in moving to wideout in college (which would actually be good for Michigan, assuming he’d be willing to play quarterback for at least one year), and seems to be very into Florida State. If I used MGoIcons, he’d get a Nefarious Eduardo up in this joint.

Sam Webb Detroit News fluff on CA RB Brennan Clay:

“I’m open to all the schools right now,” he said. “I’ve told them all that I don’t have a favorite yet and I’m showing them all interest. I’m gonna announce my top 10 before the season starts. I want to take a few official visits and hopefully I’ll be able to commit during mid-season or before our playoffs start.”

Clay, obviously, is the former teammate of presumptive starting QB Tate Forcier, and Michigan has really become more of a factor in his recruitment of late.

Rivals (free) video fluff on MN OL Seantrel Henderson:

Relevant recruiting notes include the fact that he plans to narrow to a top 5 before the season, and take official visits to all of the finalists before eventually making his decision on National Signing Day. He also had some nice things to say about Michigan (probably the most positive-sounding comments about any of the schools he mentioned, for what it’s worth). He said it’s a really big university, and he really likes the campus, plus the coaching staff is pretty cool, and there are nice new facilities and lots of new stuff going on. He didn’t mention this in his Michigan-related snippet, but Seantrel did say he plans to major in business or communications, and wants to go to a school that is strong in either of those. Michigan is excellent in both, so that’s another plus.

Though he went from somebody that the likes of Sam Webb was routinely mentioning as a “hot prospect” for Michigan on the WTKA morning show to a recruit that doesn’t seem to be all that interested in the Wolverines anymore, SC DT AJ Cann is still one of the few interior defensive line prospects on the board at this time. Fluff from his coach:

“A.J. is a humble kid,” he said. “He doesn’t talk about it. A lot of times when you get a kid who’s been offered by 32-35 Division I schools, a lot of kids believe he’s going to get this treatment, he’s going to act this way. A.J.’s the same kid he was before he got those 35 Division I offers.

“He busts his butt in practice. He’s a leader out there. When you tell him to do something, he asks no questions. He’s front of the line, showing young guys what drills we do offensively and defensively the same thing. He’s responded to it well and hopefully, within the next couple of weeks, that will take a little bit off of him.”

So, mostly boilerplate “the teams played hard and somebody won”-type coachspeak about one of his top players, no? However, I’m not quite sure how to interpret the very end of that quote. It sounds like he may be deciding soon.

PA DE Dakota Royer has been a steady prospect over the course of the year, collecting offers in small batches, but never really blowing up. Now, however, he at least has the opportunity to become something of an internet sensation (HT: Black Shoe Diaries):

That’s Mr. Royer jumping out of a 4-foot pool from shoulders-deep. He’s apparently quite explosive, though many sports media outlets would probably rather have you believe that he’s a “gritty” or “lunch pail” defensive end. Michigan has offered Royer, and stands a good chance to be in his top list for the foreseeable future.

OH LB Commit Antonio Kinard often seems to be the forgotten commit in Michigan’s 2010 class so far, but he’s having a successful track season of his own. He is a long jumper, and recently took first place at a meet, thanks to 2 of the best 3 jumps.

VA LB Chase Williams has mentioned Michigan in the past, but it doesn’t sound like he’s particularly interested in the Wolverines:

“This month has been packed with 19 schools including Virginia, Virginia Tech, Maryland, Tennessee, South Carolina and Ohio State,” he said. “All of them are saying they want me to come to camp this summer so they can see me in person to see all the things they see on film.”

“I haven’t made a true list of top schools yet,” he said. “I am starting to focus more on the schools that have offered and maybe one or two others. That is because I think I’m making a decision kind of early. I think the time when I cut things down is getting closer, but I know I haven’t approached that barrier yet.

The early decision and lack of strong Michigan interest seem to imply that the Wolverines probably don’t have much of a chance to land him, at least at this time.

AL S Jarrick Williams has not reported Michigan interest, despite being one of the top secondary prospects in the nation. Now, it appears as though he’s narrowed his list of choices to Auburn and Alabama, and I think that’s as good an excuse as any to remove him from the recruiting board.

Fluff in the Broward Sun-Sentinel includes very little information. It’s about how spring high school football – which we don’t have in Michigan, much to my chagrin at times – is no longer just about schemes and whatnot, but also an opportunity for college prospects to show their stuff for scouts, and get noticed, hoping for recruiting results down the road. The only reason I’m even bothering to link it is a pretty cool picture of FL CB Tony Grimes, shown at left making an over-the-shoulder catch, though I have no idea whether he was intercepting or receiving the pass.

FL CB Spencer Boyd is still favoring Notre Dame, and plans to make a summer decision. Like many defensive backs of late (including FL CB Lorenza Wood, who had previously been favoring Michigan and now likes the Irish), he cited the TEH AWESOMEZ recruiting abilities of Irish Defensive Coordinator Corwin Brown, who played for Michigan. Take that as you will, and I’m glad to see a former Wolverine having success in the coaching world, but I’d certainly prefer to see him do so in a place other than South Bend. The biggest threats to the Domers for Boyd seem to be SEC schools.

Like I said in this week’s previous recruiting update, defensive back doesn’t seem to be a huge concern at this point. The Wolverines are holding steady with several prospects, and a commitment this weekend at the Big House BBQ (about which I’ll have more info tomorrow morning) would go a long way to easing the fears of Michigan fans.

Of course, the Michigan coaching staff may not be all that confident in their ability to land some defensive backs, as they’re still handing out offers like candy. The latest is GA CB Darius Robinson (info in header). I’ve added him to the recruiting board.

Non-2010 stuff below.

2009 QB signee Denard Robinson is considered one of the frontrunners (along with 2010 FL CB Cody Riggs) to be the Class 6A-4A High School Athlete of the Year. If he wins the award, it will be due to both his football and track exploits, so congratulations to Denard (HT: The Michigan Football Blog).

A quick note on 2011 FL RB Demetrius Hart. In a weather-shortened spring game, he managed to rip off a 65-yard TD run. He’s considered a top 2011 prospect, and has stated that he’d probably commit to Michigan as soon as he could receive an official offer on September 1st. With Ricardo Miller now at Ann Arbor Huron rather than Hart’s Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, that Michigan love may have declined a bit, but they’ll probably still pursue the diminutive speedster.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Josh Helmholdt was so kind as to post an initial list of Spring Game visitors in the Free Press from which we can make additions and changes to get a visitors list:

Michigan extended invitations to most, if not all of the prospects they have offered scholarships to in the 2010 class and several are planning to visit. A majority of their in-state targets, including Inkster’s Devin Gardner, Detroit Southeastern’s William Gholston, Detroit Renaissance’s Mylan Hicks and Detroit Cass Tech’s Dior Mathis, plan to be there Saturday.

The second largest contingent of recruiting visitors will be from Ohio. Avon Lake offensive lineman Christian Pace, Cincinnati Wyoming defensive lineman Jibreel Black [now with UM offer – ed.] and Columbus Brookhaven defensive end Derrick Bryant all hold offers from the Wolverines and plan to attend the spring game.

Other expected spring game visitors include Lakewood (Ohio) St. Edward Latwan Anderson [Recently transferred to Ted Ginn Sr’s private school and will play football at Glenville – a bad thing for Michigan’s chances at him. – ed.]and Eagle Lake (Fla.) Lake Region Marvin Robinson, both top 100 safeties, according to Rivals.com. Another expected visitor, Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus running back Stephen Hopkins, said this trip is his most anticipated of the half dozen or more schools he’s already visited.

From Sam Webb’s recruiting roundups on WTKA (4-7-09)(4-8-09)(4-9-09):

Yes: 
FL/MI WR Commit Ricardo Miller
MI WR Commit Jeremy Jackson 
MI QB Robert Bolden
MI RB Austin White (recent LSU offeree)
MI RB Nick Hill
MI DE CJ Olaniyan (also at practice yesterday)  
MI DT Jonathan Hankins
MI LB Ishmael Thomas from Renaissance.

No: 
SC QB Cornelius Jones (rescheduled for summer camp)
OH OL Andrew Donnal
MD LB Josh Furman
OH DE Darryl Baldwin
FL CB Lorenza Wood

Maybe: 
TX QB Jeremy Johnson might show up. However, West Virginia sources are expecting a commit from him when he visits Morgantown next weekend.

Beacon Sports reports that OH LB Jewone Snow (son of former Michigan RB Garland Rivers) will be in attendance. No word on whether he’ll bring 2011 DE Steve Miller, also mentioned in that update, along with him to Ann Arbor. Miller is expected to be one of the top players in Ohio in the class of 2011. Snow plans to make an early decision, but I don’t think it will be for the Wolverines this weekend.

So, be on the lookout for all these guys at the spring game if you happen to have any interest.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

TX RB Chris Parr, who I’d previously noted has something of a reputation of being a troublemaker, has landed himself in hot water again, this time beating up a 14-year old. I don’t want anything to do with the kid, and I’d assume the staff feels the same way. As far as character risks go, I don’t think this staff would take a kid like Parr, and certainly not while they have many other attractive options on their radar (and after the grief they’ve taken about Chris Henry and Pacman Jones since the move to Michigan). He’s been removed from the board, though I will admit he takes a good mugshot.

Florida has offered FL OL Leon Orr, and it sounds like that’s the place he really wants to end up. He hasn’t committed yet, but he gets an imaginary frowny face icon.

PA DE/LB Dakota Royer is starting to get his recruiting process squared away, and he has numerous offers as well as a list of favorites:

“It was very good … They are up there right now,” said Royer, who has offers from Maryland, Penn State, Colorado, Notre Dame, Illinois, Stanford, UConn, Michigan State, Kentucky and Rutgers.

“Maryland, Pitt, Penn State, Michigan State, Notre Dame — those are my top [schools],” he said.

No Michigan mention, in terms of interest from either side. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if he popped up on the Wolverine radar soon – if only to show Little Brother who’s boss.

KS DE/LB Geneo Grissom (already on the board) is indeed getting interest from Michigan. The linked article regards his attendance at the Jayhawks’ junior day.

Are you interested in the latest news on TX LB Caleb LaVey? Then CalebLavey.com is the website for you! His “Recruiting” page indicates he is receiving interest from Michigan (but he does not mention an offer), so he has been added to the board. I assume the site won’t be the most enlightening in terms of details about his recruitment (a la qbforce.com), but thus far it seems to be updated enough to be relevant, so hopefully his dad (who is listed as the contact, and I assume is the one operating the site) will update it frequently.

Michigan leads for PA CB Cullen Christian. They are far ahead of most of the competition, and he visits campus the weekend of March 19th. He has plans to set up visits with several other schools on his list, as well. Christian also thinks he won’t make a final decision until his senior season, giving those schools a chance to play catch-up.

It looks like I should be ready to remove SC DB DeAndre Hopkins from the board. It appears as though he’s highly likely to make a commitment to Clemson at their junior day this weekend. He’ll stay on the board for now in the event that the commitment doesn’t come to fruition.

Lastly, I want to mention (since I’ve been forgetting to do so since the news broke about 3 weeks ago) that FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller is planning to transfer out of Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, and up to Ann Arbor Huron for his senior season. This, obviously, would unite him with fellow WR Commit Jeremy Jackson. That would be a pretty good tandem in the world of SE Michigan high school football. Speaking of Jackson, I found this interview of him on a random blog, whose credibility I can’t vouch for. Take it for what it’s worth.

Big Back Huntin’
With Brandon Minor graduating after the 2009 season, Michigan will likely be in search of another big, powerful back in his mold. Currently, Mike Cox is the only player on the roster who even comes close to being the style of running back that Minor is. Though all the rumblings out of last year’s team indicated that Cox was performing well with the scout team, Only having one bruiser on the roster might not be the most successful gameplan.

On that note, Michigan recently offered GA RB Mack Brown (Scout header confirms), as well as SC RB Marcus Lattimore. Both fit in the “big back” mold of Brandon Minor, though Lattimore is the more highly-regarded prospect at this time, and may be more of a complete all-around player. Speaking of Lattimore, until recently he had planned to announce his decision at the Army All-American game. Now, he has changed his mind and will wait the extra month or so until Signing Day. From the tenor of that article, it would appear that South Carolina is a heavy favorite.

There is also mutual interest between The Wolverines and CA RB Dietrich Riley (info in header). I’ve added him to the board, and he also fits the bill of “big back.” And last in the big back parade is TX RB Stephen Hopkins. The Wolverines are showing him interest (info in header). I wonder if they want an inside runner in this class. Hmm…

Posted under Football, Recruiting

Jim Stefani has a few QBs of interest to add to the recruiting board:

Barry Brunetti QB 6′1 206 4.65 Memphis University School Tennessee
Anthony Gonzalez QB/DB 6′2 193 Bethlehem Liberty Pennsylvania
Ricardo Young QB/ATH 6′0 155 4.78 Washington Woodson D.C.
Kain Colter QB/WR/DB 6′1 185 4.60 Greenwood Village Cherry Creek Colorado
Gavin Webster QB/DB 6′0 200 4.45 Lutcher Louisiana
Santez Emory QB 6′3 200 4.57 Franklin Heard County Georgia

…and also some good information on a few guys who are already there, so check out the article.

GA QB Barry Bostic has been offered by Georgia Tech, and they are his new leader (info in header).

Fluff on 2009 WR Commit Cameron Gordon, which also mentions his class of 2010 teammate, QB Devin Gardner:

Next year it will be Devin Gardner’s turn to celebrate his college choice with the Inkster faithful. The Vikings’ star quarterback could be throwing passes to Gordon at U-M or be the opposition if Gardner chooses to attend Ohio State, a school so high on him that head coach Jim Tressel visited recently and watched Gardner play in Inkster’s basketball game against Wyandotte Roosevelt…

“I was pretty excited at first,” said the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Gardner of the Tressel visit. “My heart was beating really fast, but as the game went on I just settled down and played within the team. I like basketball, but football is my first love.

Despite Tressel’s visit, Gardner is still not sporting an Ohio State offer.

The “other” instate QB, OLSM’s Robert Bolden, was recently the feature of an article by Sam Webb in the Detroit News. It’s pretty clear that Gardner is probably a higher priority for the staff (and with good reason), but Bolden might be a good fallback guy in the class.

The Free Press has an early in-state top-10 for next recruiting year, and The Sporting News had a national top-10 like substance. Gardner is on both lists, and Bolden is on the former while FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller is on the latter. From the former, I’ve added MI RB Chris Robinson from Ovid-Elsie to the Recruiting Board.

While we’re on the topic of early top-X lists, how about top-30 offerings from two of the biggest football counties in south Florida. Broward top-30, and Miami-Dade top-30.

Some Rivals fluff on VA QB Phillip Sims, who is still not mentioning Michigan (though he does talk about West Virginia). With his insistence on playing in a pro-style scheme, and no mention of the Wolverines yet, his tenure on the board may be close to coming to an end.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

With the 2009 recruiting class out of the way, it’s time for recruitniks to shift attention to the 2010 class for the Michigan Wolverines. Obviously, I’ve been paying quite a bit of attention to the matter on this site, and that will continue.

By the way, for those who have asked me when I’m going to start looking at the 2011 class, since I’ve become so used to worrying about two recruiting classes at once, dont hold your breath. It will be at least into summer, and more likely into the fall, before I start looking in-depth at 2011 prospects.

Without further ado, I’d like to reintroduce you to the 2010 Recruiting Board. Since I’ve neglected 2010 information for the past week or so, due to 2009 Signing Day, there should be a couple updates this week so I can get caught up a bit. On to the new information:

FL CB Lorenza Wood, widely regarded to be the frontrunner to be Michigan’s next commit in the class of 2010, took a recent visit to Georgia Tech (info in header). He is also expected to make a visit to Michigan for a Junior Day sometime this winter/spring. Wood also picked up an offer from Notre Dame.

MI RB Nick Hill, also considered a prospect that Michigan is likely to land if they want him, traveled to (and enjoyed) Notre Dame’s recent junior day (info in header).

If you can wade through all the fluff on Brandin Hawthorne and Brendan Gibbons, there is a tidbit of info in this article, which states that FL Slot DeJoshua Johnson (from Pahokee) has been offered.

…and while we’re on the topic of South Florida 2009 tandems who have had a junior teammate offered, Deerfield Beach’s RB Cassius McDowell received word from Rich Rodriguez that he is welcome to follow Adrian Witty and Denard Robinson to Ann Arbor. He has been added to the board. Witty and Robinson each had a bit to say for themselves, as well:

”If I go up there and work the way I know I’m going to work, I’ll be the starting cornerback at Michigan next fall,” said Witty, who visited Kansas State, Michigan and FIU.

“I’m not the kind of guy who likes to sit on the bench… I want to be the face of Michigan,” Robinson said.

More power to them, and I’m sure Michigan fans wouldn’t complain if their predictions turned out to be true.

Other early 2010 offers: OH WR Jerald Robinson. Michigan is his first D-1 offer. The coach at Canton South has also attended RR’s coaching clinic in the past, so there is a good relationship started there. Of course, Robinson has since committed to Michigan.

IL DE Chance Carter was also at said Irish junior day, and

Irish Emerge As Carter’s Favorite

Notre Dame was always considered the likely favorite to land him, and this certainly reinforces that notion. The Chicago Tribune reports that Wisconsin is his #2 choice behind the Irish.

CA RB Malcolm Jones was named the Offensive Player of the Year in his district. Despite still not holding a USC offer (although his brother plays for the Trojans), He is considered the top pure running back in Southern California for the 2010 class. The latter article also says that Robert Woods, currently on the board as a safety, will play WR in college. He has been moved on the board.

FL WR Kadron Boone holds the Gators as his favorite (info in header). With Michigan already holding commitments from two wideouts in the class, this likely doesn’t affect their recruiting strategy very much.

Speaking of those WR commitments, FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller recently caused something of a flap when his Facebook or Myspace page mentioned something about taking visits to other schools. The Michigan online community collectively flipped out. I have a few comments on the matter (as did the WLA): 1) A kid picking a school other than Michigan (or in this case, taking visits to schools other than Michigan) is not a reflection of his class or character. 2) It’s early in the process, and fans have absolutely no right to harass recruits, and maybe are putting a little too much attention into them. 3) Please, please don’t inter-stalk recruits on social networking websites. It’s creepy, it’s borderline pathetic, and it’s likely a minor NCAA violation. Don’t do it.

Removals:
TX WR John Harris to Texas.
TX DT De’Aires Cotton to Texas.
TX LB Aaron Benson to Texas.
CA DE Chris Martin to Notre Dame. Upside: now I can finally stop stumbling upon news about the singer from Coldplay. Downside: Notre Dame lands another 5-star.

Posted under Football, Recruiting

The Board.

Added:
4 from Jim Stefani:
NJ OL Dante Weaver
TX DT De’Aires Cotton
FL RB Roy Finch
OH WR Jerald Robinson

New Information:
VA QB Phillip Sims. Fluff.
TX RB Lache Seastrunk. Closing in on his school’s all-time yardage record.
SC RB Marcus Lattimore. He already has 20 offers. Yeah, he’s kind of a big deal.
FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller. One of the fluffiest articles in history.
OH DE/LB Jamel Turner. He didn’t grow up with a favorite school, and considers himself a “free agent.”
NC DE Prince Shembo. NC State has offered (info in header).

Removed:
SC DT Kelcy Quarles. South Carolina commit.

Etc.:
MI QB Devin Gardner and RB Nick Hill played each other in the playoffs. Gardner’s team won, and is going to the state championship game.

Posted under Football

The Board.

Added:
IL WR Kyle Prater. A big outside wideout from Illinois.
MI OT Nate Coleman. The Livonia Franklin product was at the MSU game.

New Information:
WA QB Jake Heaps. Fluffy stuff.
IL QB DaRon Brown. Injury news.
VA QB Phillip Sims. Recruiting-y fluff.
CA RB Brennan Clay. Tate Foricer’s HS teammate has reportedly been offered, and Scout confirms.
FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller. (Obviously incomplete) highlights from his junior year.
OH OL Matt James. Apparently offered, recent Notre Dame visitor.
FL S Marvin Robinson. Sam Webb says what many people who follow recruiting have been silently thinking: his coach is a nutjob. OK, when I originally typed that, there was no pun intended, but there’s no way I can pass up “bucknutjob.” Anyway, it seems like there might be a possibility of Marvin changing high schools.
FL CB Tyler Blandin. Cryptic Scout headline implies that there is much mutual interest between Blandin and Michigan – and he may help bring a couple other prospects in.

Analysis:
– First, Marvin Robinson: To anyone who’s following his recruitment at all, it has seemed for quite some time that he has wanted to commit to Michigan, but something was holding him back. It’s becoming more apparent that a batshit insane head coach is that hindering factor. Those reading the tea leaves think that he’s all but committed to Michigan.
– At corner, it’s starting to look like Lorenza Wood, Tyler Blandin, and Dior Mathis are the top three on Michigan’s recruiting board. If they can get all three, I think they’d take them all and switch one (Mathis, perhaps?) to slot receiver.

Posted under Football

The Board.

Moved to Committed:
:(

Added:
IL OL Andrew Schofield. ’09 Commit Michael’s lil bro.

New Information:
TX QB Darveon Trahan. Out for the year with injury.
OH QB/Ath Courtney Avery. He’s not projected as a college QB, but he can really chuck the ball.
OH WR Tyrone Williams. Offered by Ohio State.
FL WR Commit Ricardo Miller. Despite the loss, his MySpace confirms he is more committed than ever.

Removed:
FL RB Jakhari Gore. He’s “A ‘Cane at Heart.” At this point, a Miami commitment appears to be little more than a formality.
MD CB Louis Young. Stanford commit.

Analysis:
Yeah, so I was expecting this update to be a lot more substantive, particularly in the “commits” section. Of course, the loss Saturday didn’t help, but I was thinking Marvin Robinson (at least) was all but verbally committed to Michigan. We’ll see how the recruitment for several of the top kids in attendance ends up playing out.

Posted under Football